


Reverberations

by Taki57



Category: Echo (Visual Novel 2019)
Genre: Angst, Drug Use, M/M, Post-Leo Route, Sex, Sex Toys, Swearing, there's one chapter that's smut and that's it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:21:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24311965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taki57/pseuds/Taki57
Summary: A Post-Leo route centered around Leo, Flynn and Carl dealing with the aftermath of that week.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

His chest felt like it was going to burst. He collapsed under the weight of the heartbreak, the train rolling off as though it was his last hope of anything good to come out of this town, splitting apart at the seams. 

Well, that’s exactly what it was, and he couldn’t bring himself to leave, because what was the point if he wouldn’t be with his otter afterwards? After all the memories they made that week, after everything they had been through on this night...How could Chase make him look like a fool in front of everyone? Make him look crazy like that? Telling everyone he was kidnapped while he was laying on his bed? Breaking his heart all over again, for what?

He was on his hands and knees, the tears starting to flow. He could hear them, the drops quietly splattering against the dry earth beneath him. The train was out of eye and earshot, and all he could hear was his own choked sobs. To his right was the gun he was about to shoot his raccoon neighbor - Kudzu - with. Maybe he could just use it on himself instead.

“No, Jesus, no…” 

This town sure was doing a number on him. Maybe Chase had the right idea, getting the fuck out of dodge as soon as he could. There’s nothing here for him. _‘There’s nothing here for me either…’_

He let his arms buckle, leaning on his elbows with his head resting on the dirt. A deep, guttural noise came out of his muzzle, a strained yell. His body slowly rocked, forward and backward, as he tried to figure out what was going on.

“How could you do this to me?”

He said it to no one in particular, his chin flush with the dirt. He stayed like that for a few minutes.

A gunshot. In the distance, but a gunshot none-the-less.

He shakily reached out for his own pistol, keeping it in his right hand, then stood up and staggered his way back home, the porch light his only guide in the inky black of the night. The stars were out, though. One thing about living in the middle of nowhere - no light pollution makes a clear sky at night look just otherworldly. As a kid he could recall reaching a paw out and pretending he was able to swirl the stars around.

Now he couldn’t find the energy to even reach out.

He pushed his door open and stumbled across the kitchen, down the hall, through the door to his bedroom. 

“Chase?”

An otter was in his bed. It looked like him. It looked like his otter. For a second, his stomach swelled. _‘Of course he wouldn’t leave me, I knew it!’_ But just as quickly, he felt his joy turn into a punch to the gut. It looked like Chase, it had his clothes on. But his eyes seemed wrong. They were too...dark. And for some reason he saw wisps of black appearing and disappearing over his body, as though the thing before him was on the verge of turning into a black void.

The wolf raised his gun and pointed it at the otter before him. He said his name out loud again. “Chase?”

It didn’t respond - it just kept smiling at him. Right beneath his muzzle, his stupid little goatee was gone - again. He could still see black arcing off of the surface of its skin and clothes.

_Bang. Bang. Bang._

Leo figured that whatever it was would go away or, shit, if it _was_ Chase he would be bleeding or dead or something, and at least the police would know he was crazy. Instead, the apparition sat up. 

The wolf yelped, scrambling his way out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He fell down in his mad dash out of the front door, tripping down the steps and dropping his gun in the process.

He heard it go off and tensed, hoping he hadn’t just shot himself in the head or the leg or something. _‘Nope. Good.’_ He grabbed the pistol, sat against the wall of his house, put his head in his knees, and sobbed until the sun came up.

\---

_1 week later_

The damage done to Echo was substantial. Nine deaths. Couple dozen injured. People Leo had known since he had moved in with his family were just...gone, like that. The mayor - Flynn’s aunt. Janice was dead - he saw that one with his own eyes - as was Dale, which means that the diner would probably never be open again. Duke was found on the side of the highway by Chase’s car with his innards torn apart like he was roadkill. 

That was the sobering reminder to Leo. Duke was found torn apart like _roadkill_. That night happened, _that was real_. The media had chalked the hysteria up to something in the water supply, and though some men-in-black type goons had been asking around, they weren’t getting anything out of the wolf.

Whatever Echo was harboring wasn’t something that could be controlled or understood as far as he knew, and he sure as Hell wasn’t gonna let some government lackeys get involved with it.

 _‘Not that I care or anything…’_ Truthfully, Leo didn’t want to be in the town anymore. But rent was still dirt cheap and he just...wasn’t about moving back in with his parents. Granted, he was still working at the automotive repair shop his Dad ran (his father had enough compassion to give him some time off after hearing about what happened to him - unpaid of course), and he would probably spend a few more nights there than usual. _‘But it’s not like I’m entirely alone in Echo, right?’_ Carl and Flynn were still around - hopefully they didn’t think he was still crazy.

He looked out of the kitchen window, lamenting the fact that he currently had no truck. Someone had set it ablaze during the hysteria. His father told him he was working on getting one to him, but it had been a whole week. How hard could that be?

His phone buzzed. 

**Flynn:** Hey. Carl wants to know if you’re doing alright.

He scowled - he didn’t figure his hunch would be so quickly confirmed.

 **Leo:** If he wants to know so bad why doesn’t he text me?

 **Flynn:** Because he’s terrified of you you fucking asshole

 **Flynn:** Look, we all went through some shit last week Leo. You know you went rabid, you said it yourself.

 **Leo:** He could still text me. What am I gonna do, slap him through the phone?

He couldn’t believe this. It wasn’t like he was the only person that went _bayunco_ that night. They had to arrest like 10 different people for assault - most of whom didn’t have a criminal record for crying out loud!

 **Flynn:** But he’s worried about you.

 **Leo:** Well I’m just wonderful. Fucking chivo.

 **Flynn:** Alright bitch

 **Flynn:** Keep in touch.

He wanted to punch something, but that was just how Flynn normally made him feel.

That Sunday morning Leo was awoken by two Payton police officers that as he found out, Flynn himself had called in. He thanked them profusely, and had immediately called the gila when his phone got service.

He had talked to all of them that morning, half sobbing the whole time. It was brief but it felt like he had been saying goodbye forever. Of course that wasn’t true as the text conversation with Flynn had shown, but he might as well have just shut himself off from the rest of them. He never planned on talking to Chase ever again and he was confident Chase felt the same way.

Some protector he was.

There was a knock at his screen door. _‘The fucking raccoon’._

He grit his teeth. He knew Kudzu was coming by to give him his gardening shit back, but he really, really didn’t want to see his face right now. 

He swung the door open, trying not to show the scowl on his face and failing miserably.

“Kudzu.”

The little vermin stood before him with a bunch of tools wrapped around one arm and a small box in the other hand. “It’s apple pie. Just take it, I made too much.”

“Don’t want to save it for your boyfriend?”

The raccoon sighed, huffing. He put the box on the wood floor next to the screen door. “I’ll put the tools back.” He walked around the side of the house to where the unlocked garden shed stood.

Kudzu...Leo could not have predicted Kudzu stealing his boyfriend, and right under his nose, too. When did that even happen?

But the truth of the matter is Kudzu probably saved Chase’s life, and then his by proxy. _‘Shit, I guess that’s what I’d been trying to do and he beat me at it.’_ And now Kudzu was moving to Pueblo with his otter. 

He looked down at the anchor around his bracelet, then out the window at the raccoon, black sleeveless shirt and shorts, putting his stuff back. 

“Hey, Kud.” He had stepped outside, leaning on his porch railing. The raccoons ears swiveled, his head and then his body turning around.

“Yeah?”

“Take care of him.”

“Doin’ my best.” His tone was gentle. “You take care of yourself. And listen…” He really didn’t want to. Kudzu had a penchant for being nice when it wasn’t warranted, and he was about to be on the receiving end of it.

“I can...only imagine how things are for you right now. But you aren’t alone, okay? We all went through some crazy, _crazy_ shit last week. Talk to someone about it, alright?”

Just more meaningless platitudes. Of course. “Yeah. Will do.”

He turned around, picking up the box of pie on the way back in. “Thanks.” He half-shouted to the raccoon in his yard. He would be gone soon.

Carl was afraid of him. Flynn is an asshat. Chase left him for his neighbor after three years of trying to find closure and trying to bring him back to Echo. He’d probably never see TJ and Jenna again. He currently had no truck because someone set it on fire. There were three holes in his mattress from when he shot a hysteria induced hallucination of his ex-boyfriend. A fifth of the town was dead and something alien was responsible for some - hell, maybe all - of those deaths.

But for some reason he was alive.

He put the apple pie on the kitchen counter, knelt down on the floor and sobbed.

\---

He must’ve been like that for hours, because when he finally came to the sun was setting. It was something clanging that had actually caught his attention, though. The wolf looked outside his window only to see his trash can tipped over. _‘Probably nothing dangerous. Still…’_ He grabbed his pistol just in case. 

What he saw shouldn’t have surprised him. A scabby, scrawny ring-tailed cat was sat cross-legged in front of his trash can picking through Leo’s rubbish. 

“Clint!” He didn’t brandish the gun - he shouldn’t have to with him by now.

Clint looked up, eyes suddenly widening in panic. “W-wh- Leo? Thought you moved. Hey, do you only eat these dingy tv-dinners or what? Nothin’ good in here.”

“Why the fuck are you rummaging through my trash!? I thought you were in Payton!”

“Well I was in Payton, but all my shits still _here,_ asshole. And hey, why’re you treatin’ me so rude? Pretty sure I indirectly saved your life or some shit.”

He remembered that. Everyone screaming at him not to shoot Clint because he had told Kudzu where Chase was. He wondered how much of his own actions then were him and how much was the hysteria. Looking back...Yeah, maybe that wasn’t his greatest moment. And here he finds himself once again in front of the meth head, who had apparently been reduced to rummaging through trash to survive.

He never understood why Kudzu had so much sympathy for him. He was a druggie. A low-life, one who had recently tried to beat him to death with a piece of rebar. He had picked on him and all his friends throughout school. Clint was the reason he had originally decided to become the ‘protector’ of his friend group - though he figured he didn’t have much of that now.

Leo harrumphed. “All your shit? That can’t be much.”

“Leo, fuck off -”

“You’re the one on my property, Clint.”

“I’m hungry!” He yelled back belligerently.

“Then go to your little crew then! Why bother me!?”

“They weren’t there! Well Jeremy was, but he fucked off this morning and I ain’t seen him since.”

 _‘I don’t see how that’s my problem.’_ He looked at the scabby little vermin in front of him, still going through a trash can that he wasn’t gonna find anything in. _‘Sorry bud, I ain’t as kind as Kudzu.’_

Of course, his mind then crossed to the apple pie that Kudzu had given him. It felt like an act of pity to Leo. Just one more thing to remind him of why he was better than the wolf. And the last thing Leo wanted was pity-pie. 

He came and went from Clint’s sight in seconds, returning with the box in hand. He threw it down in front of the ring-tail, the top of the thin cardboard box popping open.

“Pie. Your raccoon pal made it, not me.”

Clint furrowed his brow. “Raccoon...Oh right, Koos-du or something? Yeah, I like that guy.”

Leo narrowed his eyes, taking the sight of the lanky ringtail in. He had the box in one hand, but his other still rummaged through his garbage, throwing aside beer cans and empty food packages. 

“Get outta here Clint.” He sounded exasperated.

“Well fuck you too!” And with that, he had picked the box up and scrambled off. Leo watched him as he turned down the street back towards the main road. The sun was on the horizon.

He really needed to get another truck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://youtu.be/EieA3KIykjg
> 
> Translator's note: Bayunco means crazy


	2. Chapter 2

_Carl could see nothing in front of him. The murky dark of the water prevented him from seeing anything at all, really. His clothes were weighing him down, and he began to swim in the direction he thought was up. Surely he would see all his friends at the surface! Something in front of him came into view - even in the darkness of the water he could make out a... reddish figure. It was unmoving, and he tried to stop swimming to it but some force was carrying him forward. As it came closer into view the water lightened and he could see it more clearly - it was too tall and lanky to be a person. Its arms looked outstretched, and it’s face...Where its eyes should’ve been were two gaping black holes, and in place of a mouth there was just a third, larger hole. Carl flailed, trying to turn around. But some unseen force sent the two closer and closer. A few meters, a few feet - that blank stare and gaping mouth took up more of his field of vision. He opened his mouth to yell, water pouring in -_

_8 days later_

“AAAHHHHH!” He sat up, arms windmilling and legs kicking against the mattress. Without any light source he couldn’t get his bearings and continued to flail.

“Carl-” He rocked his head to the side, hitting something with his horns in the process.

“GET AWAY GET AWAY-”

“Carl!” The lights turned on, but Carl had shut his eyes. He felt hands grab at his wrists. “Carl, you’re okay!” 

He opened his eyes and they met with Flynn’s, the golden yellow striking in the dim light of the gila monsters bedroom. He stopped his arms from moving, tears forming in his eyes. Flynn let go of the rams arms, and they immediately wrapped around his torso. Flynn felt cool against everything else, his face pressing up against the reptiles orange and black scales.

He let out a few pathetic bleats. “Guh, sorry Flynn…” A gentle leathery claw stroked the back of his neck. He felt silly. Every other night it was some demented nightmare like this. He had already gone through Leo shooting everyone in his dinky little house, being ripped out the back of his parents van by a socket monster, and now this. When would they end?

Is this what Chase goes through?

“It’s fine.” Flynn pressed the ram into him a little more, and he could feel him let out an exasperated breath. Flynn couldn’t ever really know what happened to Carl and the rest of the crew, but he had heard enough, went through enough, and he empathized. While Carl and company were busy being chased by a cryptid and dealing with an insane Leo, he was busy trying to stop the person who shot his aunt’s face off from killing someone else. He tried to wave that thought off, but failed. Flynn let out a heavy sigh of his own, gripping the ram tightly in his arms.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before Carl pulled back. “Ugh...I’m gonna get a water, OK?” He sniffled, his face only partially matted with tears.

“Right.” Flynn let his gaze linger on Carl for a few moments, then rolled over as he heard hooves clop out of the room.

Carl couldn’t be grateful enough for Flynn. When he’d had those other nightmares he had woken up alone in his room and had panic attacks that even his dankest weed couldn’t help subside. He thought that spending the day with Flynn would make him feel better, maybe stop the nightmares. Him and his roommate sounded pretty chill, so maybe, he thought, some sort of ‘chill osmosis’ would take place and he would be fine again.

It didn’t exactly pan out that way. Although Flynn wasn’t close to his aunt, her funeral had only been two days ago, and between dealing with that, trying to process the events of the last week, and still working every day under some defacto mayor that the county government had brought in, Flynn was kind of stressed. The evening was a bit tense. Flynn had introduced Carl and Daxton to each other to rousing success - they were basically two sides of the same coin, and once they had actually started talking there was no stopping them.

They had thrown on some old 90’s superhero movie that Carl and Daxton insisted was ‘so bad it’s good’, and for a bit Carl was worried that he was just bothering Flynn. But half an hour in and a few beers later the big lizard was riffing on it just like he did with the bad horror flicks they would watch from time to time.

When the film had ended Carl had caught that forked tongue flicking in his direction, and he could feel his heart rate quicken. The reptile had grinned in his direction, eyes giving him a solid look over. They hadn’t done anything in… _’Geez, it must’ve been two months now?’,_ he had thought to himself. Daxton had fallen asleep on the recliner, and the two had retreated to Flynn’s room to fuck.

Well, suck each other off. Carl wasn’t eager to do anything involving the rear end, for some reason - _‘Butt stuff just freaks me out. Stuff’s supposed to go out of there, not in!’_ Flynn had assured him that one day he’d be convinced otherwise. But as of last night that hadn’t changed.

He’d filled a glass of water from the sink, duly noting that it was 4 in the morning. He looked down, trying to ignore the visible stiffy making his boxer briefs jut outward. And then he heard Daxton.

“Hey Carl.”

The ram tried not to jump, trying to turn and bend his body over the kitchen island so the salamander wouldn’t see anything he didn’t need to. “O-oh, hey Dax.”

“Is everything alright?”

Knowing that the salamander had surely heard him screaming bloody murder, he tried to play it off. “Oh, everything’s more than fine - don’t you worry, dude.” The words came out suggestively, but Daxton saw through it.

“If you say so. But those sounded less like moans of pleasure and more like screams of terror to these ears. Unless you’re into some weird shit, that is.”

“Nah, _I’m_ not the one into shit.” Carl chuckled at the running gag he had with Flynn, and Daxton suddenly looked concerned.

The ram hung his head, putting his elbows on the countertop. “I’ve been having nightmares.”

“You aren’t the only one.”

He had almost forgotten that Daxton had been caught up in all the hysteria with Flynn. The salamander had ended up at the town hall when things went South, and apparently had a gun pointed at his head for some reason? Whatever it was, he was here now.

“You too?” He asked solemnly.

“Yeah. Not to be grim but...you screaming woke me up from one.”

“Oh fuck. You gonna be alright?”

“Yeah, I got enough sleep. I got school at 9 anyways, I’m just gonna stay up.”

 _‘School…’_ Carl’s brief tango with higher education left him feeling frustrated and hopeless. He still couldn’t fully grapple what went wrong there, but he suspected it was his parents insistence that he get a business degree. It must be nice to be going for something you actually want to do, like Daxton was.

“Man, after everything that’s gone on and you’re still waking up for that. I’m impressed.”

“Well I’m already in debt and I don’t want to be in anymore than I have to, so…” He gesticulated with his arms, something he didn’t usually do.

Carl gesticulated back.

“I just don’t want to put my education on hold. Believe me, I’ll be talking to every school counselor I can about this black hole of a town, but I’m not letting it get in the way of my degree.”

 _‘God, I wish I was half as passionate about anything as this dude was with his writing degree.’_ He paused in thought. Was there something? He did always like to draw, but his parents never really encouraged it. His friends - both online and off - seemed to delight in it, though.

“Well, good on you man. _Shoot for the stars_ and all that.” He exaggerated a wink, hoping his pun shone through clearly enough to warrant it.

“Because you watch Ada-”

“Because I watch Adastra, right.”

“G’night man.” The ram gave a quick wave and shuffled off, his cup of water still half full.

Flynn had turned the lights off and it looked like he was already back to sleep, so he made sure to be as quiet as possible - well, as quiet as he could with his hooves - as he got in to the other side of the bed.

He didn’t want to close his eyes - it just reminded him of his nightmare. So he kept his eyes on the fan above him - it must’ve been on the lowest setting because he didn’t even realize the thing was on until now. He turned his head slightly so that he could see Flynn. He was on his side facing Carl, eyes closed and sleeping soundly.

What was Flynn to him anyways? They were good friends, that’s for sure. Carl couldn’t think of any other person he would mess around with like he did with Flynn. But after everything that had happened, and with how long they had known each other...Were they really just friends with benefits? He shifted himself a little closer to the gila, his hand outstretched to put his hand over his best friends.

To his surprise, Flynn quickly scooted over and wrapped an arm over Carl’s frame, pressing up against his side. He could feel him breathing - maybe a little faster than usual - and a claw found a way to the back of his neck again, gently scratching the fur around his head.

The next time he shut his eyes, he dozed off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8ODc8z_nDA


	3. Chapter 3

_10 days later_

The only business still open in Echo was the combination gas station-mini market on the outskirts of town. The outside of the building hadn’t seen renovations in ages - the roof above the gas pumps was heavily rusted, and an empty sign board housed a few of those replaceable letters all jumbled together, no words to be found. 

The inside however, was remarkably clean in comparison to the near disarray outside. The floors weren’t shiny, but they weren’t dirty either. An odd assortment of necessities was neatly arranged over three aisles - everything from toiletries to automotive supplies, generic drugs and tools to snacks. Along the back of the store was a half empty fruit stand, and next to it a freezer section with dairy products and frozen TV dinners.

That’s where Leo found himself, pondering which of the many variations on ‘pasta-meat-vegetables’ he would pick up for the next few days. His parents had given him another truck, considering the previous one had been set alight in the hysteria a few weeks ago. It felt good to get back to work after everything that had happened. Being able to actually leave the town whenever he needed to should help him retain his sanity. It also made getting food a lot easier. The mini market would be a two-mile round trip walk otherwise, something he wasn’t really willing to put up with given the seasonal heat.

He brought his frozen dinners and other things to the front where a young iguana in a white polo shirt started to ring him up without saying a word. The wolf took stock of the reptile, immediately noticing he smelled like weed and looked stoned out of his mind.

Leo waited for the iguana to tell him how much he owed, but found it didn’t come. The iguana was staring down at something Leo couldn’t see, completely zoned out. The wolf leaned down and inwards, trying to gauge just how gone the iguana - Alan, given his name tag - was. It reminded him of when he would visit Carl and the ram would be so stoned that he wouldn’t even register that anyone else had walked through the door. Five minutes of work just to get a “Hey,” out of the guy.

It didn’t happen that often, but when it did was more annoying than troublesome.

Like now.

“Alan.”

The reptile looked up. “Hello, what can I do for you today?”

“How much do I owe?” Leo couldn’t hold back a frustrated tone.

The iguana looked at his computer, his face going on a journey from a concerned expression to a confused one, and then finally realization. 

He gave a half-hearted smile. “12.59”.

Leo fished out a twenty and waited patiently for the change, making sure the iguana didn’t screw him over in his drug induced stupor, then walked out to his truck.

He didn’t expect to run into Clint sitting against the side of the brick building, a spliff in his right hand. The ring-tail’s eyes were as red as the clerks but he was definitely more lucid as he immediately noticed Leo.

“Hey beaner. Want some?”

It was like Clint to call him a slur and then offer him weed. He briefly considered stomping the shit out of him. _‘He probably deserves it.’_

He held back his anger best he could, though he could feel it pulsing throughout his body - both his fists clenched and he gritted his teeth, not holding back a growl.

“Don’t call me that.” His eyes drilled into the ring-tail cat, and he watched Clint visibly recoil in his spot on the cement.

“Y-you can have it if you want it,” He held the spliff out to him with one hand, looking more fearful than apologetic. Instantly, his anger subsided just a bit. The ringtail suddenly looked less like a threat and more pitiful than anything.

Leo wrinkled his nose. He smoked from time to time, but he wasn’t really in the mood at the moment. He didn’t really like the smell - usually if he wanted to get high he’d find some edibles to munch on, and he was still trying to cut back on cigs to boot. Not to mention, why would he smoke with Clint?

“Nah, I’m good.” He kept his tone dismissive, climbing in the door of his truck and starting the engine. The seasonal sweltering heat would get to him if he’d stayed outside much longer.

Something slapped up against his door and he jumped back - it was Clint, his paws up against the window, arms framing his face. Leo jumped back.

“Jesus fuck! Puchica!” 

“Can you just give me a ride back to town?” He pointed behind him with his thumb in a direction that was arguably not the town. Leo started to piece things together. _‘Did Clint walk from his place to here to...sell a gas station clerk weed?’_ He suddenly noticed how drenched in sweat the ring-tail was, and was suddenly thankful his window was closed. His eyes were wide and just standing in the sun, he was panting.

“It’s gotta be one fucking hundred degrees out here and if I try to walk back in this sun i’ll fucking _melt_ right on the fuckin’ asphalt, yeah? C’mon, I’ll just hop in the bed, right?”

“You walked here you fuckin’ meth-head. Just call one of your druggie friends.”

One of his fists pounded the glass and his face scrunched up. He walked back and hopped his scrawny ass over the side of the truck-bed before Leo could pull away. Clint yelled from behind him, his voice muffled by the trucks windows. “I don’t have a fucking phone, Leo! And I haven’t _HAD SHIT_ in two weeks because my dealer is fucking _DEAD_ , you mangy bitch!”

Leo put his hand on his hand, exasperated at what was happening.

“Just drive me to the fuckinnn...Ugh!” He could hear Clint mumbling and moving around behind him.

 _‘I don’t have anything to threaten him with this time...’_ He sighed, putting his foot on the gas and leaving the station.

The childhood bully of his friends was sitting in the back of his truck, selling drugs and probably going through some kind of meth withdrawal. Leo wondered how much the marijuana actually helped with that, if at all. It didn’t seem to. _‘Well that’s just what he has to deal with,’_ he thought to himself.

The dry dirt raced by as he sped down the two lane route that took him closer to the scattered stucco houses and trailers of Echo. It was really hot, and Leo couldn’t imagine making a walk like that just to sell one guy weed. And did Clint really not have a phone? He could’ve used the clerks, but the option probably didn’t cross his fried brain.

Leo didn’t get why people did drugs like that. Sure, some of the devils lettuce to take the edge off now and then, but what good did doing anything more bring? He thought about Clint’s father, a mysterious figure he had only seen on a few occasions. He didn’t look very pleasant. Apparently he got arrested on some sort of drug charges a few years back. Clint was 19. Clint must’ve been smoking hard shit when Leo was in his junior year. And where did that get him? Shooting up and losing his mind when he couldn’t do so every day?

He turned a corner, coming up on the road that was referred to by his friends as ‘Tetanus Alley’. In the rearview he noticed Clint standing up, faced toward the few trailers and half demolished houses that he called home. Leo noticed a cloud of dust, and as the truck approached the road he saw a dirtbike doing donuts in the middle of an open plot of land. He couldn’t quite place the silhouette riding it, but he did notice Heather jumping up and down nearby, looking toward Clint.

The truck came to a halt. He heard Clint bump against the rear window. “Your stop, crackhead!”

“Thanks, faggot.” The leather of the steering wheel squeaked as his claws dug their way in. It wouldn’t have been so hard to just step outside and deck him once in the face, would it? He heard the crunch of the dirt beneath Clint’s paws, padding past his door.

Leo gave him the bird. 

Clint gave him two back.

\----------------------------------------------

“OK, so just take this pickaxe and go look around that mountain for some coal or iron, they’re the blocks that have different colors on them. You should find a cave around there.”

“Aren’t there monsters in caves?”

“Yeah but it’s not hard to kill them. And if you’re low on health you can just eat this food.”

Leo watched the blocky ram on the screen before him extend a rectangular arm, and a bunch of items appeared before him.

It was Carl’s idea to play Minecraft, a game he recalled his friends mentioning in passing when he was in high school. He didn’t know much about it, other than that it wasn’t what he was used to. Leo preferred action games or first person shooters, stuff he could get excited about when he won. Of course, when he lost it ended up in shit like the three holes in the drywall by his side.

_‘I should really patch those up.’_

He watched his character traverse a few green hills and directed it around a large, towering grey feature, looking for any big holes to dig into. This didn’t really feel like his kind of game.

At least it was Carl that texted him and not the other way around. That had made him feel good - he hadn’t talked to him since everything went down, and after those brief texts with Flynn he was pretty sure he’d lost the only person willing to talk to him in this town.

But no, he could hear him loud and clear - well, as clearly as possible with the dingy headset he had on.

“So uh, how’ve you been holding up?” He asked the ram.

“Oh, uh...I’ve been...Alright, I guess.”

“You guess?”

“I keep having these bad dreams at night. It’s been tough to get a good night’s sleep.”

“Weed isn’t helping?”

“A little, but I ran out yesterday and Jeremy hasn’t responded to any of my texts. And I don’t really wanna make the trip over there…”

He thought back to his mini-market trip earlier in the day - Jeremy wasn’t selling, but Clint probably was. But did the ram really need to know that?

“Eh, no one over there but assholes anyways. Hey, you know who I keep running into?”

“Who.”

“Clint. You ever see him around?”

“Not at all, dude. Well, maybe he tagged along with Jeremy once but otherwise I never see that guy. How is he?”

“Eh? Why do you care?” He couldn’t imagine Carl and Clint ever having a conversation that didn’t end in Clint antagonizing the ram - at least, that’s how he remembered things. “He still looks like shit.”

His character found itself in a cave. “Uh, it’s too dark for me to see anything.”

“I gave you torches too, you can put them on any block.” Carl was silent for a moment. “Clint...I don’t know, man. He was a prick to us all the time in high school but…”

Leo couldn’t let him finish that thought.“But what? He used to beat the shit out of you and Chase all the time-”

“Yeah, when we were like, twelve! I don’t know man, he just…”

“And he always called me and Chase faggots!”

“Well, he called everyone a faggot...but I get what you’re sayin’ dude. But uh, remember how he was on the train with us?”

He didn’t want to think about that night - but he remembered his call to Flynn that next morning, someone mentioning Clint was with them.

Carl continued. “He was like...Really fucked up. I don’t think any of us realized how bad his drug habit had gotten, dude. Or like...paid attention to it? I don’t know, I just feel more bad for him than anything.”

Leo scowled to himself. _‘He still tried to jump me with a crowbar.’_

“Earlier today I ran into him at the mini-mart. He jumped into the bed of my truck and demanded I drive him to his house.”

“Pfff, haha...That sounds about right.”

“He told me he didn’t even have a phone.” He paused as he noticed some green cube-thing - _‘Isn’t everything in this game a cube-thing?’_ \- coming toward him from the depths of the cave.

“Oh hey, what’s this little green guy?”

“Get away from that.” Carl spoke curtly.

He hopped away from it, back up toward where he’d marked his path. “I think I got enough stuff anyways.”

They were silent for a moment as Leo tried to find his friend in the game. When he did, he spoke up. “Hey, thanks for inviting me to play this.”

“No problem dude...Just wanted to talk to you again, y’know?”

He noticed Carl sounded a little wary. For a moment he tried to think about how Carl must have viewed him. Whenever he replayed that night's events in his head, he thought most of his actions were pretty justified. It was the hallucinations that made Leo pause. Not only did they further put him in a messed up mental state, it made him look like a lunatic. And sure, he wasn’t the only one in the town, but he was the only one of his friends that seemed to succumb to the madness. It made him feel...weak. Is that how they saw him now? “Yeah. Look, you don’t have to be afraid of me or anything. Like, I know I went a little crazy but...That wasn’t me, OK?”

“It...It was a rough night.” Carl sighed deeply.

“I just don’t want you to think I’m some...some psycho running around with a gun.”

“I believe you, dude! I believe you. None of us were really ourselves that night. We gotta like, recuperate and shit, right?”

He ran his hands down his muzzle in frustration and looked up to the ceiling. If he stared long enough at the swirls in the ceiling he swore he could make out the face of his otter, but it still wasn't right. Uncanny. Eyes were too dark. Shape was all wrong.

“Yeah, I guess that’s the word.” Leo had a feeling it was going to take a while to recuperate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESr06SXO0vU


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A good portion of this chapter is just some BDSM-lite fuckin. Just so you know. OK
> 
> Also at this point I'm getting into characters that haven't been entirely fleshed out in the game and I'm just running with headcanons. I feel like I have to say that

**14 Days Later**

**need 420 dick:** hey  
 _‘Who the fuck…’_

All things considered Echo and the nearby townships did not having a thriving queer community. Flynn kept the hookup app on his phone as more of a joke than anything. Carnal desires were easily met through a seedy bar not too far from town but also in the middle of nowhere, where he’d found more than he’d bargained for. Every body that passed through looking for some kind of hook-up, copious amounts of drug use, and a cacophony of kinky arrangements that varied given the night. A bunch of outsiders just trying to feel, he thought, and he figured he belonged. 

Or if not the Smoke Room then Carl, who had gone from good friend to friend with intermittent benefits over the course of the last year. It didn’t really surprise Flynn that the ram swung both ways given the glances he had seen of his browser history. Carl was into some really weird shit - maybe staying cooped up in his house in front of a screen did it to him. It was even funnier then that he would avoid the topic when it came to actually trying said weird shit. 

Given recent events, the gila monster had traded in the smoky, ecstasy-riddled haze of the former for the fuzzy broad-chested, bad pun making, pot smoking of Carl. It was starting to feel weird, but not in a bad way. He tried not to think about why.

Regardless, leaving behind the revolving door cast of the Smoke Room made him feel like he was missing out on something. Maybe that was why he started to entertain the idea of the faceless hookup app user.

**need 420 dick** : looking 2 play around

OK, that’s a start.

**monsterman:** You got a face?

It felt like a hypocritical question given his own profile picture was just him in an unbuttoned shirt to reveal his chest, but at least he had a picture to go on.

He clicked on the faceless picture, leading him to a profile. The mystery account indeed had no picture to look at, but reading the profile gave him some idea of what he was dealing with.

_‘420 friendly. Can hook u up.’ ‘STD Free.’ ‘Down to try new things.’_

Right off the bat he wondered if he was dealing with a drug dealer - or at least a pot dealer - and if this was all some elaborate scheme to get him to buy weed, or better yet, threaten his life for money or some shit. He had heard stories of it.

Clicking back to the main page, he paused and considered just hitting up Ryan - the german shepherd, a frequent lay whose profile was just beneath his finger. _23.6 miles away._ That was a fucking trip compared to mystery mans 1.3. 

A little envelope popped up. A picture had been sent - took him long enough.

He half-expected a dick pic, and his half-expectation was met with a poorly lit picture of a semi-erect dick in someone's gray furred hand. _‘Shit, he’s kinda packin.’_

He could tell he was looking at a bat given the thin membranous skin that hung from his wrist and arm. On that arm were a few crudely done tattoos that actually looked kinda familiar -

_‘Oh shit, Micha?’_

In a way, it didn’t really surprise him. When he was a kid, he recalled Micha never showing interest in girls. And since he had come back a few months ago he’d noticed the way the bat talked and act seemed like a masculine farce, undercut entirely by the way he dressed and his obviously fake deep voice. He wondered when Micha realized he was gay.

Then he remembered that Micha was a little kleptomaniac that stole his dirtbike when they were kids and hasn’t done anything since he’d come back to Echo other than sell pot. Just an all-around asshole, really.

But hey, a lay is a lay.

_“Down to try anything, huh?”_ The gears started turning in his head. If he was gonna invite him over, it was going to happen on _his_ terms.

**monsterman:** Lol nice S tattoo Micha

**monsterman:** You think I wouldn’t figure it was you?

**need 420 dick:** I’ll have you no I did the S tattoo myself

**need 420 dick:** listen man i haven’t gotten any dick out here in 3 months

**need 420 dick:** stressed tf out all this shit been goin on

**need 420 dick:** u smoke? I got some loud

**monsterman:** Calm down. Didn’t say no, did I?

**monsterman:** Down to try new things?

**need 420 dick:** yeah man as long as you aren’t tryin to shit on me or smth

**monsterman:** You come to my place. Do what I say and we’ll both have a real good time. Promise.

**monsterman:** And yeah, bring some loud.

He sent his address to the bat who responded with a thumbs up and a ‘wink’ emoji, then reached down under his bed and pulled out a white storage container with ‘toys’ written on the side. _‘It’s been awhile since I’ve put any of these to use.’_

\---

Flynn watched with anticipation as a bright yellow dirtbike sped down the asphalt, coming to a rough stop in front of the house. He watched Micha take off his helmet, revealing his short head of white hair. As he walked up the steps to the screen door, Flynn noticed he was under-dressed for someone riding a dirtbike - a black muscle shirt with some band logo on it and a pair of black jeans.

Micha looked at the gila through the screen door, leaning one arm against the frame. “Hey.” He was trying to sound suave, but his somewhat forced deep voice prevented that.

Flynn held back a smile. “Turn around and put the handcuffs on.”

The bat’s eyebrows raised. On the railing a pair of metal handcuffs hung, gleaming in the evening light. Flynn wasn’t sure if Micha’s kleptomaniacal tendencies had stayed with him since he’d last actually hung out with him, but he wasn’t taking any chances. It was also a little litmus test - if Micha was willing to handcuff himself before the gila, then he was probably going to be receptive to everything else Flynn had laid out.

The bat picked up the handcuffs, eyeing Flynn at the same time. “You ain’t just tryin to steal my weed, are you?”

“Well, now that you said it…” Flynn chuckled toothily, but the bats ears went down.

“Oh my God, Micha, I’m not gonna steal your weed.”

“What if I don’t want to put em on?”

“Then you don’t get my luscious ass or my delicious cock?” He said it mockingly.

Ears still flat, he put his left wrist through the cuff and it shut with a resounding _clink_. He then guided his right wrist the best he could through the other cuff, struggling for a few seconds to get it shut as well.

Flynn watched with a grin on his face. He rarely had the chance to use his ‘adult toys’ at home, and watching Micha stand on his porch sealing his fate was getting him more than a little excited.

“Alright. Now what?” He was still trying to sound suave but doubt was creeping in his voice.

The gila opened the screen door and took the bat by the arm, flashing a devilish grin.

“Welcome to Casa Del Flynn.”

\------------------------------------------

Micha stumbled, trying to keep up with the gila dragging him through his house. He caught a glimpse of some blue dude on a sofa - a salamander that didn’t even turn his head. This must’ve been a common occurrence then, which he found kind of funny.

For all the shit he’s pulled, Micha had never actually been in handcuffs. It was somewhat nerve-wracking given the situation, not really knowing what to expect next. Flynn always had this serious look on his face, like he was trying to figure out what you had done wrong. Micha didn’t do anything to piss the gila off since he got back, right?

Flynn reached behind him and shut the door to his room, then turned Micha around with a pull on his shoulder. He tried to read the lizards face to no avail.

“So, uh...what-” Micha was caught off guard by the gila closing the distance between them, blue eyes meeting his and then shutting. He felt a forked tongue press up against his own, brushing against his fangs, and couldn’t hold back a quick, embarrassing whine. He pressed back, locking lips with the gila.

And just as quickly, Flynn pulled back. “This is ridiculous. How did this town produce so many faggots?” He flashed a toothy grin, then guided the bat toward the end of his bed to sit.

“It’s in the weed, dude.”

Flynn was behind him, moving something while talking. “Y’know, from my point of view that kind of makes sense. Ever been blindfolded?”

“For, uh, sex? No.”

“Well, here’s your ‘new thing’ for the day.” The lizard appeared in front of him, shirtless now, with a leather blindfold in his hands. He watched, eyes wide with anticipation, as the lizard fit it over his head and came down around his head.

He couldn’t see a fuckin’ thing. The leather was cool and comfortable around his face, even as he felt Flynn tighten it so it wouldn’t be jostled off. But his world was now pitch black.

“This ain’t no fun, I can’t see you now!” He figured he’d get to see the lizard on his back as he pounded away at him, or vice versa. Clearly that wasn’t the end game for Flynn. One hand roughly pushed him back so that he was laying on the bed, which creaked as Flynn kneeled over him.

“Well you’ve got it all wrong - that’s actually the fun part.” He whispered right into one of his ears, the voice closer than expected. The lizard grabbed his hands and raised them above his head, making his wings splayed. He held them there for a few moments, doing something with the handcuffs, and then let go. When he tried to bring them down, he found that he couldn’t - his hands were stuck above his head, attached to the bed frame.

“Never fooled around with a bat before. You look real cute with your wings like that.”

Micha swallowed nervously and jerked in earnest at his handcuffs. He’d never been in a situation where he was so vulnerable, and his wings being spread out wasn’t helping.

“Hey, don’t be nervous. I’m about to ride your dick.” His words weren’t really comforting, but he felt claws reach up under his shirt and gently massage his chest fluff. It felt good.

“I-I’m not nervous!” His stutter betrayed him. “Just...Don’t call me cute. That’s gay.”

The hands on his chest felt around and stopped over his nipples. They were gently pinched, eliciting a squeak from the bat. That just made the fingers rub a little faster, and Micha squirmed under the weight of the gila.

“Sensitive? Good to know.”

“I- They aren’t sensitive!”

“Yeah?” He felt a fingertip run over each one. “Well they’re pretty rock hard, my guy.”

The fingers moved downward slowly, brushing over his torso and then pelvis. He felt hands fumble with his jeans, unbuttoning and then pulling them off, leaving his furred legs out in the open. From underneath his boxers he could feel himself getting stiff.

“Someone’s excited.”

“Shut up.” Micha could hear himself dropping his deep voice.

One of the gila’s hands grasped the bulge, feeling and squeezing it through the linen of Micha’s boxers. He shuddered at the sudden touch, cursing the blindfold for putting him on edge.

He felt his boxers yoinked away from his crotch and legs, and his whole bottom half was now exposed. The forked tongue came back pretty quickly, appearing at the base of his dick and slowly licking its way upwards. He didn’t hold back a moan this time as the tongue curled around and hardened his seven-inch cock.

He huffed as the lizard retracted his tongue back inward for other reasons. “Good to hear you drop that stupid voice for once.”

“It’s not a stupid voice!”

“You just keep telling yourself that.” He heard something squelch, and jerked in place at the cool lube Flynn coated his dick in. With the blindfold on, every single thing the lizard did to him was a surprise. Every touch, every claw, every lick - he didn’t know when it was coming and he didn’t know where they would land. The anticipation was nerve-wracking but in the most sexually charged way. 

He was kind of into it.

He could feel the scales of the gilas legs against his as a paw worked his dick over a little more, still slathering on lube. 

He felt the gila scoot up along the bed, his knees by the sides of his chest. His nose caught a faint whiff of lizard musk. “Oh, one more thing before we get started…”

Something jingled in front of him, and hands found their way back under his shirt. Something metallic and cool had come along with them, and they were headed straight to his nipple. The hands searched for a moment and then something squeezed down hard on his nipple.

“Ow, motherfucker!” It was a lot less playful than the fingers - more painful, if anything. Just as quickly his other nipple fell victim to the same sensation.

“There. Now we’re ready.”

“Y’know, I think I would’ve been ready withoo-oohh shit”. 

He hissed as he felt Flynn’s ass slowly slide around his member, the warm insides teasing relentlessly.

Slowly but surely, Flynn picked up the pace, his hands continuing to grope and tease the bats smooth chest. His claws traced around the pinched sensitive skin making him yelp. The sensation of his clamped nipples and his dick being rode by the gila monster on top of him was new, to say the least.

One of the lizard’s claws caught on the chain connecting the two clamps and tugged. 

He gritted his teeth “Gah, fuck you!”

Flynn didn’t miss a beat - “Way ahead of you there.” The chain was given some slack, easing up on the sensation. But he wasn’t done, tugging the chain randomly as he rhythmically bounced up and down his shaft.

He humped upwards a bit, trying to get a rhythm going for the both of them, not wanting Flynn to be doing all of the work. The pleasure rose in his loins and the feeling of the clamps on his chest just enhanced it now, the two sensations mixing into one.

“Fuck, dude, I think I’m close…”

Flynn grunted. “S-same here.” The gila above him was panting and moaning as well, the two of their grunts mixing together, creating a nasty little song of passion.

“O-oh fuck!” A particularly hard tug of the chain is what sent him over the edge. He felt his dick jump as he emptied himself into the gilas ass, waves of pleasure pulsating over him.

"Shit…" The lizard was slowing down the pace, and he heard him grunt. Something warm and sticky landed on his nose - the lizard was cumming all over his face. He felt rope after rope of thick seed land on him - some got in his mouth, and he used his tongue to lick as much of it off of him as he could.

They both didn’t move for a moment, just breathing deeply, taking the whole situation in. Micha was still deep inside of Flynn - he could feel the smooth scales of his ass on his crotch. 

“Well.” He felt Flynn lean forward - A tongue lapped out to lick up some of the mess on his cheek. Then a hand caressed the side of his face - he was taking off the blindfold.

He squinted his eyes, trying to get adjusted to the light, and was met with the deadpan stare of the gila, sitting above him. He was completely nude, and the way the orange scales popped out against the pitch black ones was mesmerizing.

“What did you think?”

The bat shook his head and his eyes darted away. It was absolutely amazing, but he didn’t want to tell Flynn that. “I think you should get these vices off my fuckin’ nipples.” He scowled, looking down at his shirt which was now stained with lizard jizz. “Oh dude, this was my favorite band shirt…”

Flynn broke his stare to laugh. “I’ll get you a towel.”

\-------------------------------------

The sky was a number of red and pink hues. _‘Pretty to look at,’_ Flynn mused to himself, taking a hit of the joint Micha had rolled. He was next to him now, the two of them shirtless, leaning against the wall of the house. He passed it back to him.

Micha wasn’t as upset as he was acting, otherwise he wouldn’t be here right now. He watched the bat with a sense of curiosity. He had been gone for years - ran away from home, his parents said - so what on Earth had brought him back? His old home was demolished - the only things from his past still here were the people, and Flynn wouldn’t exactly call them great company. He remembered what Carl had said about the fennec.

“Carl told me he can’t get in touch with Jeremy.”

Micha’s posture tightened. “Yeah.”

The gila should probably tread carefully. He didn’t really talk to any of Micha’s friends, so he didn’t have any footing with the bat. “Know what happened to him?”

The bat slumped a bit. “He’s not...missing. He just left. Didn’t say why.”

Flynn furrowed his brow at that. “Didn’t say why?”

“He...He wouldn’t tell me - he would hardly talk to me, or anyone else. I really don’t know.” He looked out at the landscape, taking another hit.

They were silent for a moment. Why would Jeremy just up and leave without telling anyone? Not even his father? Plus, he and that ringtail were thick as thieves, and he couldn’t imagine the fennec leaving Clint behind in his given state of mind.

He prodded a little further. “How are the other two?” 

“Why do you want to know?” And there was the wall, the words coming out accusative.

He put his hands up defensively. “Well fuck me for tryna have a conversation, I guess.”

Micha gave him a side-eye and smirked. This time the silence lasted longer. The red-pink hues transitioned to bluer ones as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon. They passed the joint back and forth, drinking in the cooler air. Micha made his way to the wooden railing and rested his elbows there, hands on his chin.

“Clint’s fuckin pissed. He’s a mess. I mean, he’s going through withdrawals and the person he’s known for all of his life just up and disappears? I don’t know the guy as well as Jer and Heather do and hanging around him just puts me on edge. You know he has a gun? And I’m afraid he’s gonna lose it and someone’s heads gonna get blown off. I’m glad Heather can talk to him but... It’s just really, really fucked.”

Flynn walked up beside him, letting his arm rest on the bats shoulder. He flinched slightly, not having seen him coming. “Shit. That’s rough.”

He sighed. “It’s fine though. Heathers still got half a brain to talk to.”

“Y’know, that doesn’t really sound fine.”

Micha didn’t respond to that - just pushed Flynns arm away. He fished around in his pockets and pulled out the rest of the marijuana he had been carrying around. He looked to Flynn, his eyes red and his face a bit more clinical.

“How much you want?”

Flynn sighed, getting some cash out of his pocket. 

“How much is a quarter?”

They finished the exchange quickly, Flynn telling him to keep the extra cash - it was no big deal.

Before he left, Micha playfully punched the lizard on the arm. “And uh, thanks for the...weird time. It was...good. I think.” He had reverted back to that weird deep voice. “Maybe we can do it again?”

Flynn raised an eyebrow and grinned. “Maybe if you stop talking like that.”

“Talking like what?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8oxXkUjYHg


	5. Chapter 5

**15 days later**

**Leo** : yo flynn !

 **Flynn** : whats up you musky husky

 **Leo** : dont call me that >:(

 **Flynn** : What are you up to?

 **Leo** : super random question

 **Leo** : What happened to Clints father?

 **Leo** : I know he got arrested for drugs or something but what like ??

 **Flynn** : Uh. I don’t know the whole story but I think his dad did a lot of bullshit.

 **Flynn** : Sold drugs, did drugs and beat the shit out of his wife is all I know.

 **Flynn** : Makes me feel real bad for the shitheel sometimes. 

**Leo** : Do u evr talk to him?

 **Flynn** : Naw. Why would I? He hung out with Jeremy a lot, who apparently has skipped town.

 **Flynn** : Carl won’t shut up about it.

 **Flynn** : Why do you care?

 **Leo** : I’ve just seen him around a lot recently.

 **Leo** : Like yesterday I saw home outside the diner on my walk

 **Leo** : And he was screaming about god or some shit. Just goin nuts

 **Leo** : And I looked at him and he just started crying

 **Flynn** : You realize he’s going through withdrawal symptoms, right?

 **Leo** : Still? 

**Flynn** : They can go on for over a month

 **Flynn** : I wouldn’t be surprised to know he’s still having psychotic episodes.

 **Leo** : thats what it looked like

 **Flynn** : The next month or so is gonna be super rough for him.

 **Flynn** : Man, fuck those shitheads that get people addicted to that shit. Fucked up what it does to people.

 **Leo** : just shouldn’t have done it if you asked me

 **Leo** : flynn?

 **Flynn** : It’s not as easy as that.

 **Leo** : lol how literaly just say no like the lion dude

 **Flynn** : damn Leo, really?

 **Flynn** : No one in your family, no one in your circle do hard drugs?

 **Leo** : nope

 **Leo** : well I had a cousin who was an alcoholic or somethin but they sent him somewhere and he got better

 **Flynn** : I’ll keep it simple for you Leo

 **Flynn** : Just don’t bother him.

 **Flynn** : He’s probably feeling all sorts of fucked up

 **Flynn** : Just try and leave him alone, alright?

\---

**10 years earlier**

Leo looked over the shoulder of the ram. He was holding some weird two-screened game thing, explaining how he could use the bottom screen to command the characters on the top screen by moving a little pen a certain way. Chase looked really into it. He smiled. Maybe it wasn’t the wolf’s thing, but at least the otter was enjoying it.

They stood outside the diner as the sun was going down. Leo watched some small grey pickup truck drive by, turning into the parking lot out of view. With the sun setting, the air was cooling down a bit. He was thankful for that - the summer heat and his fur were getting to him.

The three of them were waiting for Flynn - he had wanted to go fishing or something. He couldn’t remember the specifics. He leaned up against the metal wall of the diner. The cooling air had meant it wasn’t hot to the touch, and he reveled in how it gave his shoulder and arm fur a reprieve from the heat.

_Thump._

There were some loud voices coming from inside the diner. Chase had heard them too, and was peering into one of the windows on his tip-toes.

Inside, a large horse, all black, argued with a large ringtail cat. Leo recognized him as the scumbag father of Clint - the only two ringtails in the town. He couldn’t make out any words, but the ringtails ears were flat and the horse seemed angry. Janice was nowhere to be seen. One other patron, facing the two, tried not to gawk.

Without warning, the horse grabbed the others head and slammed it on to the countertop. Leo looked over to Chase, face still pressed against the glass. The patron had his head down. The horse slammed his head down again, and then yelled something about money.

He heard footsteps approaching the door and realized suddenly that Clint was also in the diner. The door between Chase and Leo busted open, the ringtail looking around with a bleak look in his eyes.

“What are you looking at?”

Leo didn’t say anything. Clint turned to Chase. He could see the otter looking over Clint, surprised. He opened his mouth to speak.

“I-I heard, uh-”

“Huh?” What are you looking at!?” Clint pushed him.

Leo instantly grabbed the ringtail by the arm, dragging him backward with excessive force - he stumbled past Leo, who turned around and gave him a quick punch to the nose the first chance he got. Clint stumbled further, only just managing to not lose his balance.

He rubbed his nose with his wrist, staring back at the three of them. There was a little streak of blood in the fur.

“Mind your own business, faggots!” His eyes were wide now. Filled with some sort of indescribable anger.

He ran off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD3aDV4r6A8


	6. Chapter 6

His pawpads kicked against the grass, his body twisting and turning in fervent struggle. He can get no distance on the figure dragging him along by the rope around his neck. The world is dark, lit up only by the stars in the sky. A radio in the distance is playing some staticky bluegrass song, but it’s drowned out by the sound of his choked gasps, cries of help cut off by tugs that would restrict the otters breathing. Fingers grasped at the rope, looking for slack but clawing futilely. He turns to see his assailant but he can’t make out anything more than a vague black shape. His head swivels back and forth, trying to gain a sense of his surroundings. He’s in a small, familiar field filled with knee high grass. For a brief moment, he disregards his situation. ‘ _I’ve probably got so many ticks right now.’_

The dragging stops. He turns to run but the assailant delivers a blow to the side of his head and the otter’s world is upside-down. He tries to choke out a question, but his voice is too scratchy to even hear correctly. He hears the sound of branches rustling. Something being thrown, and then rope forcing his hands behind his back.

An airy, ethereal voice calls out - not from behind him, but as if it came from inside his head. “You can struggle all you want.” The static on the radio takes over whatever else was playing. 

He’s yanked backward repeatedly, foot by foot. He’s being jerked on to something, nimble hands lifting his body up onto some wooden stool. The rope tightens, lifting his body taut. He’s standing on his toes now.

“Us otters can hold our breath for a long time.” The static on the radio comes in waves.

“You knew how long I could hold mine for.” Chase’s eyes refused to focus on anything other than the crop of trees at the end of the field, as if staring intensely at the mess of pines would somehow help him escape his situation.

“Do you think you could hold yours for longer?” He almost lost his balance. In between the static he can hear a gut-wrenching scene - _that_ one.

Crying. Screaming. The wailing of an ambulance.. The gentle lapping of the waves.

“Do you?” It sounded like a child.

A kick from behind toppled the stool over, and his legs immediately flailed. He made a wretched choking noise, trying desperately to get air. As his vision swung around, his assailant came into view. Once focused on the trees, he now tried to focus on the blurry abyss that slowly took form.

It was Sydney. Of _course_ it was Sydney, but he looked older. His face was about the same but he was taller, more muscular. He couldn’t make anything else out in the twisting darkness. 

“Why did you do it?” His voice sounded far away. His body still flailed, legs in all directions in a feeble attempt to free himself.

“Chase? Chase?” Why couldn’t he breathe? This was just a dream, right? This had to be a dream. So why did he feel so light-headed?

**_15 days later_ **

“Chase!” 

The otter gasped, sitting straight up and clutching his chest. 

The sheets had nearly been pushed off the bed at this point, and the familiar shape of Kudzu was standing next to him.

“Oh...holy shit.” It was all he could say to convey how he felt.

“Holy shit is right. Was that a nightmare?” The raccoon rubbed Chase’s arm, kneeling down to be face to face with him.

“Yeah. Definitely. Definitely a nightmare.”

But he had never had one like that before. Usually they were memories - either of his ,or of...well, whatever it was that was sharing his body. But that was distinctly not a memory. He hadn’t had a terror like that in over a decade. Not since he had -

He put his hand up to his forehead. “Bad one. But I’ll be fine.”

“You sure? Because I think you bruised my thigh with those kicks of yours. Those stubby legs pack a punch! Er, kick.”

“Oh, fuck, sorry…”

“No, it’s fine!” A short silence. “Do you...want to talk about it?”

In the three weeks since his return from Echo, Chase had kept his head down about everything. Him and Kudzu, let alone any of his other friends, hadn’t actually talked about what happened. They had made sure Leo was alright, sure, but after that...It was almost like the week didn’t take place. He had returned to casually liking and commenting on their social media posts (sans-Leo) and hanging out with his canine roommate - now former, since he had moved into a nearby place with Kudzu. He did have a lunch with Jenna as a congratulations on getting her Bachelors, but it felt like just that - a celebration for her. Chase had another semester to go, and even though he was keeping up with schoolwork, he felt like time was moving at a snails pace.

Like he was still living in the past.

“Do you remember when you showed me that, uh...whatever it was. That little box down the street from your place? And then I ran off and saw Clint strung up on a tree by Brian?”

“Yeah.” He sat down on the bed now, still holding on to Chase’s hand.

“Uh, so that nightmare was like...it was kind of like I was taking his place. I was being dragged through the field and then I was...” He paused, not keen on recounting what followed.

“Oh, Chase…” Kudzu wrapped his arms around the otter’s mid-section. “Well, the bear’s dead, right? You told me that much.”

“It wasn’t Brian doing the hanging.”

“...Who was it?”

 **Don’t tell him. He’ll** **_hate_ ** **you.**

He froze. Kudzu couldn’t possibly understand what had happened all those years ago. It would probably be best to avoid the ‘who’ in this situation.

“I...couldn’t make it out. But yeah, I’m pretty fuckin’ sure that Brian’s dead. I never told you about that, did I?”

“Chase, you don’t have to.”

“I _don’t,_ but does that mean I shouldn’t? Kud, you and I and everyone else all experienced the same unreal shit that happened that night. The looping road? The thing that knocked us into the water? Everyone having hallucinations? That wasn’t just in our heads. That was _real!_ Shouldn’t we all be talking about it!?”

Kudzu sighed. “I - sorry. You’re right. I just figured after having a nightmare might not be the best time. It’s just...How? How do we talk about that? Where do we even start?”

**You don’t.**

“Well, let’s start with this - I’m pretty sure I watched...some absolute, cryptid monster eat Brian alive inside of the mines.”

“No.” Kudzu sounded incredulous.

“Yeah. Some gangly, white furless thing. Kinda like the thing that we saw on the road, but definitely different.” He left out the rest of the scenario in which his life was nearly snuffed out by the bear’s hand.

“It-it couldn’t have been, uh…” The raccoon fumbled for some excuse, some possibility to explain away what Chase was saying.

“What the fuck would it have been? Enlighten me.”

Kudzu was silent.“But...That would mean there’s more than one.”

“I think there’s a lot, personally. Maybe just in Echo. Fuck, I hope they’re just in Echo. Whatever they are.”

The raccoon just sat there, unmoving.

“Hey, this talk isn’t freaking you out, is it?”

“Uh, yeah. It is.”

_I should tell him the truth._

**What good would that do you? All you would do is lose someone else.**

“Kud, did you ever see anything weird before I showed up?”

“To be honest, I didn’t think so until your ex started going haywire. I remember him mentioning that you were there...before you all had showed up? And I, I remember looking out my window late one night, and just for _one_ moment, I swear to god I saw a...an otter shape looking into his bedroom.” 

“That’s what Duke was saying.” Kudzu’s story was in line with Leo and Duke’s sightings. What he had at first thought was hallucinations was now pretty clearly something a little more.

“That’s when I remembered it, but I kept my mouth shut because I was trying to stop a kidnapping.” 

“I think..” He chose his words carefully. “There was something fucking with Leo and what you saw was that. If I’m being honest...I think I might have seen it too.”

“What do you think it was? A ghost?”

He held Kudzu tight. “Maybe.” He wondered if Leo went through anything like his situation, something he didn’t fully grasp and didn’t like to think about. What if he did? What if they could’ve figured out what was going on and get some answers? _‘Well, I guess I have Kudzu to talk-’_

**He would just think you’re crazy.**

Chase gulped. He tended to forget that he was always listening. He held onto Kudzu a little tighter.

“I - I don’t really know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2RhJ7Fvk58


	7. Chapter 7

_18 days later_

“Remind me again why I agreed to inviting him along?”

“Because he hasn’t seen us in like three weeks and I feel bad.”

Carl leaned against the side of the truck, watching Flynn take two collapsible chairs from the back and seat them on the grass close to the river. 

He had gone fishing with the gila once before, a few months back. At the time he didn’t really want to - what was there to do? It just seemed like it would’ve been boring. But he went anyways at the promise of beer.

As it turned out, the whole point of fishing was to get drunk, and they had spent that day getting progressively rowdier while Flynn cooked some of their catches. So Carl figured why not do that again, but with Leo? The guy was really going through it, and - well, if he went crazy again, at least it would be two to one!

“Can you take out the cooler?” Flynn was getting the fishing gear out from the back seat.

“Yeah.” The ram reached into the truck bed to drag out a huge ice and beer filled cooler, placing it in between the few chairs they had set up.

“It’s just - I thought this would be our thing. We couldn’t have invited him for something else?”

“You and him work a lot, dude. This was like, the only day the two of you will probably have off for awhile!”

Flynn scratched at his arms. “Yeah, and I don’t know how excited he’s gonna be to spend it fishing. Oh, did you remember to bring bug spray? Gotta watch out for ticks.”

Carl fished through his shorts’ pockets and pulled out a pocket sized bug-spray can. He flashed a grin. “Just for you, babe.”

“You put it on too, lardass. If the smells bothers you so much…” Now it was the gila rummaging through his pockets. He pulled out a ziploc baggie full of weed.

“Oh shit, nice!”

“Turns out Micha’s taken up the mantle with Jeremy gone, at least for now.”

“For now?”  
  
“Ehhh, he didn’t say anything specific, but I get the feeling the bat doesn’t know why he’s still here.”

“Well, he’s selling us weed and that’s all that matters.” Carl noted dryly.

His ears perked up at the sound of an engine. Turning around he saw a grey truck kicking dust up every which way. In the drivers seat was Leo, nodding toward the two with a grin. The truck pulled up next to Flynn’s, the crunch of the dirt fading out.

He exited the truck with a smile on his face, and he didn’t even bother to close the door before pulling Carl into a quick hug. It was nice - seeing Leo for the first time in three weeks with a smile on his face. “How ya been man?”

He left the hug after a couple seconds and went straight for Flynn. The gila put his hands up in rejection but it didn’t deter the wolf from embracing him.

Carl laughed at Flynn’s disgruntled expression. “Good to see you too,” he choked out. Leo patted him on the back.

“Haha, sorry...It really has been too long since I’ve seen you guys.” He scratched the back of his neck with one hand.

“Yeah, well...Grab a chair and a beer.” Flynn jerked a thumb to the back of his truck. “If you want you can grab a fishin’ pole too.”

“Well, we’re here to fish, right? Might as well.”

And so they fished.

Carl smiled. It was good to see the two of them talking to each other. He knew that they weren’t on the best of terms beforehand, but in the moment that seemed to wash away. They ran through a few six packs in no time and the ram had started to smoke with Flynn. After a few hours had passed, they cooked a few of the fish they caught - one by Flynn, one by Leo. Leo gloated at the fact that his fish was bigger than Flynn’s. The two of them fought over the fish while Carl munched away on his pre-packaged salad.

The river they fished at had a rocky hill on the other side - orange stone jutted out and dominated the landscape, and tall, light green grass filled in the space between. Above it was the blue sky. Taking in the scene in front of him, he felt a momentary bliss. Everything felt right.

Then his eyes moved back downward, past the rocky peaks and the tall swaying grass into the body of water where they were fishing in.   
  
Well, they weren’t fishing in it now. The gurgle of the river slowly drowned out the two of them talking in the background. It was hypnotic - the water moving and coursing continuously, almost like it was alive.

 _The truck soared through the air. He looked out the window and only saw stars. SPLASH._

“I’ve been doing...alright I think…” Leo’s words were a little slurred.

“Yeah? Still working at Dad’s shop for now?” Flynn on the other hand, knew how and when to hold his own - he was happy with the buzz he had going on.

“Mmm..Yup. But it just...it kinda sucks right now. With uh, everything that happened...” 

The ram was hoping they would avoid the ‘everything that happened’ conversation today, but that was now sounding much less likely.

“I miss him.”

Flynn fidgeted for a moment. The ram knew the reptile wasn’t good with this kind of stuff, and was about to chime in with something supportive, but the gila actually beat him to the punch.

“Well listen, Leo, he was gone for three fuckin’ years, and look what happened when he finally came back. If that wasn’t the universe telling you it wasn’t meant to be...Shit! Don’t you think it’s time to move-”

Carl jumped at the sound of a glass shattering. The red wolf was standing up, his fists balled and his muzzle scrunched up in a grimace.

“I _know_ I need to move on, Flynn.” His voice was shaky. “I know that…”

Carl looked over at Leo, who’s face slowly morphed into the most pitiful frown he had ever seen. Flynn’s intentions were good but there was no stopping the whine that escaped Leo’s muzzle. He watched as the canine clutched at his arms and took off something - _‘Oh shit, the anchor bracelet…’_ With a drunken vigor he stumbled toward the river and threw the trinket as far as he could downstream.

“Woah.” Flynn had gotten up, and for the sake of preventing any stupid fight, Carl did too, trying to place himelf between the two taller men. Instead, nothing happened - Leo just continued to sniffle. Leo had worn that thing for like five years straight....Carl wondered when the regret would set in.

Flynn broke the awkward silence first. “Sorry.”

Leo turned around, downtrodden. “Don’t be.” He plodded back to his chair and fell back into it, the sudden weight causing it to creak. His sniffles turned into quiet sobs.

* * *

Carl grabbed the cooler - now full of fish - and heaved it into Flynn’s truck bed.“OK, so that didn’t pan out perfectly, but what ever does for us these days?”

Leo had left a few minutes ago. After an unnaturally long crying session courtesy of the wolf alone, they continued to chat about other things to try and get his mind on a better page. But every time Carl looked at him his eyes were on the river, staring intently down where he had thrown the anchor trinket.

Flynn threw up his hands.“He cried for like thirty minutes straight! What am I supposed to do around that?”

“I don’t know, just let him do his thing! He threw that old bracelet away. That thing was super important to him, I think.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. He’s trying to move on. That’s good for him.” He paused and turned, as if to signify that he was trying to be serious. “Really.”

Carl was chipper. “Maybe if we’re around to help him through all of this, he’ll end up okay!”

Flynn was decidedly not. “I seriously doubt that.”

“Listen, if you hadn’t said anything and just let him wallow in his misery, he probably wouldn’t have taken that first step, y’know?”

“As right as you might be, I have no fuckin’ idea what’s going through his head. Carl, the most experience I have with relationships is fucking strangers I meet on hookup apps and Craigslist ads. And anyways, what else can I say about that situation other then ‘move on’, right?”

For a moment, Carl felt physically distressed. ‘ _OK, so what does that make me?’_ But then, Flynn had a habit of talking rash, right? _‘I’m not just a stranger to him…’_

“Just strangers?”

“Yeah, y’know. Fuck buddies. Carl was silent, deflated. _‘Nothing.’_

Flynn looked back over at him, and his eyes widened a bit. “Wait - shit, Carl, I promise you’re more than a fuck buddy.”

“OK...what is it, then?” A silence. Flynn shuffled his feet against the dirt.

He turned toward the ram, an unsure look on his face. “Real good friends with benefits. Best friends with benefits? Guy I can both hang out with and eat the ass of? I have no idea.”

Carl grinned. That was a good night. “Haha, that was pretty hot.”

“Yeah, and somehow I still can’t get you to fuck me.”

“Yeah, because then it would be gay, dude!” He laughed it off, but a little part of him felt bad for Flynn. He was so clearly desperate to take a dick - he wouldn’t shut up about some gay bar outside of town closing down. He didn’t even know there _was_ a gay bar outside of town until Flynn had told him. 

“And as we know, all the things we’ve done to each other are just, the exact opposite of gay.” The gilas voice dripped with sarcasm.

The two finished packing up, and as Flynn swung the tailgate back up he looked over to Carl.

“Hey, do you wanna swing by my place for a bit? I can cook up the rest of these catches for Dax and you both can make me watch another shitty superhero movie.” 

That sounded nice. Carl got along really well with Flynn’s salamander roommate - they were both kind of nerds. And making Flynn sit through another cheesy old action flick would be hilarious.

But he couldn’t help but think of the conversation they had just skirted around. Although Flynn had a dour exterior, Carl cherished the times where he really got to know the reptile. They weren’t the tightest when they were all kids, but once college happened - and failed - for Carl, Flynn was there, and understanding at the very least. Without Flynn he didn’t really have anyone to hang out with - Leo was fun to play video games with, but other than that he didn’t have much in common with the wolf. But Flynn made him feel good, and got him out of his haunted ass house every now and then.

Now that he thought about it he didn’t have all that much in common with Flynn either - he just liked being around him. _‘Does that really just make us...friends with benefits? I guess that's good enough for now.'_

Carl raised an eyebrow to the suggestion. “Sounds better than what I had planned.”

Flynn turned the truck on and gave him a look. “Let me guess. Sit alone in your room and get high?”

The ram gushed dramatically. “Oh, you know me so well!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk6hUM45HLg


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooSJIXIbCoc

_18 days later  
_

_‘Of course I had to go and make things awkward. Of_ course…’ 

The red wolf kicked up a bit of dust. Just because. It’s not that he didn’t have a good afternoon with Flynn and Carl - just, what happened in the middle of it. He had soured the mood, and now it was stuck with him. He rubbed a paw over the space on his wrist where the anchor once rested.

 _‘He’s gone. There’s no reason to keep it, there was no reason to keep it…’_ He repeated it like a mantra in his head, trying not to let his emotions get the best of him. Not that anyone would likely hear anything - he was walking along the railroad tracks and there wasn’t a soul in sight - just the few abandoned boxcars along one rail. 

_‘We’re done. It’s over, Leo.’_ The sound of a rushing train echoed in his mind, the night they all left coming back in full force. “There was no reason to keep it…” It baffled him how much he had truly lost his mind back then. All the other crazy shit didn’t even matter that night. It was like he was more willing to die in Echo then leave town without Chase in his future…

It wasn’t supposed to go that far. _‘Yeah, maybe I was a little...obsessed, beforehand…’_ The otter crossed his mind a lot while he was gone - and how couldn’t he, having ghosted him - and for years, at that? But in the month or so leading up to his visit...That’s when things got weird.

At first he thought he was just hallucinating. Seeing him around town for just a moment, hearing his voice in the distance...Then he saw him peering through his window one night.

And _then_ he got Chase’s message about visiting Echo.

Something had a hold on him, and he didn’t see it until it was too late. But with everything in the past, maybe it was possible to...figure things out in a better way. At the very least, his feelings for Chase - _‘he’s gone, stupid!’._

He came up to the tail end of a boxcar and leaned against it, hiding in its shadow from the blazing sun. The alcohol was still lingering in his system, and every second he spent in the heat was a second he felt more sick. He let himself slide downward, eventually just sitting on the dirt, and ran his paws down his muzzle.

 _“He’s not here anymore, he’s got no reason to come back - not for the town, not for me…’_ He dug his claw into the spot where the anchor had rested for years. 

The idea that they were each others anchors...Bullshit. It was all bullshit. All he was doing was trying to keep Chase around. _‘I was only trying to keep him anchored to me, wasn’t I?’_ And back then, why was that such a bad thing? Chase was his only source of happiness in town when he graduated from high school. With his only foreseeable plans to keep working at the auto-shop, was it really so wrong to try and keep him close by?

He certainly had been feeling that way now. “He wouldn’t talk to me for years…” Years. Sure, he went away to college, but that alone didn’t mean anything. Of course, the phone calls petered out pretty quickly. And then he wouldn’t respond to texts or anything for days...One day he just didn’t respond. And he wouldn’t answer his phone either.

They hadn’t officially broken it off. That was the problem. What was the wolf supposed to do? Of course he freaked out internally, of course Chase took up too much of his thoughts - the alternative was forgetting about him! Obviously it wasn’t healthy, but who was there to keep him in check? Carl had also gone off to college, and when he dropped out he just turned into a recluse. Flynn…

Flynn seemed to deal in blunt truths. Leo couldn’t handle it then, and he wasn’t keen on it now. It made the lizard hard to take seriously - maybe because the truth was something Leo couldn’t see at the time. Today, by the river… _‘I knew - I know I need to move on. I didn’t need him to tell me that…’_ That wasn’t the first time Flynn had tried to give him advice. But in all honesty, it was the first time he had actually listened to it.

“I’m _trying…_ ” He sighed. That was all there was to it.

A laugh caught his attention - muffled, but not too far off. Actually, it sounded like it was coming from another boxcar. His ears swiveled, trying to get a better sense of the sound. The laughter was turning into voices - ones that sounded like boisterous shouting.

He peered around the corner tentatively. The safest option would just be to leave, but curiosity got the better of him. Of course, it was then that a skinny, shirtless figure fell backwards out of an open door, landing flat on his back. He watched as the dust settled, quickly identifying it as Clint. He coughed and laughed, trying to get his bearings - “You flying rat bitch! Get the hell ov-”

He paused and turned his head, noticing Leo standing 10 or so feet away. The ringtails face turned into one of confusion. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Before he could say anything, a familiar feline face poked its head out, eyeing the red wolf.

“Leo? Leo!” It was a familiar, female voice that belonged to someone he hadn’t talked to since high school.

“Uh. Hi?” He really didn’t want to run into Clint right now, let alone with the girl that eye-fucked Leo anytime he was in her field of vision. 

Someone else hopped out of the boxcar, clad in a tanktop and short shorts. “What are we looking at, you dipshits?” He turned to face Leo as well.

“Oh shit, Leo? The fuck are you doing here?”

Oh, he hadn't talked to this pipsqueak in ages. He didn't even know he was back in town - Micha ran away years ago, so it was surprising to see him back now.

“Just, uh, walking.” Micha and Heather were staring at him expectantly while Clint was dusting himself off. He suddenly felt like he was intruding on the three of them. “You?”

“What the fuck does it look like?” It wasn’t hard to figure out what they were smoking given the smell, but he had the feeling the question was more rhetorical.

“Uhhh -” 

“Leo, how are you! It’s been so long since we’ve talked!” Heather walked over to the red wolf - the gray cat was scantily dressed in a crop top and denim shorts, and she seemed very eager to close the distance between the two of them.

“Uh, yeah. You know, just gettin’ by…” This was awkward. Clint’s eyes narrowed. He was pretty sure the two of them had a thing going on at some point, but then, she had always been this promiscuous.

She grabbed his arm and looked up at him, a dopey smile on her face. “Wanna smoke with us?”

“Hey, I can’t be handin’ this shit out.” The bat sounded irritated.

“Shut the Hell up Micha, it’s Leo!”

“I haven’t spoken to Leo in eight years, Heather.” He had a point. 

Clint piped up from inside the boxcar.“Yeah Leo, you look like shit. Sure you don’t wanna smoke?” 

“Uh...what are you even doing back here, Micha?”

“I’ve been here, bitch. Clint, didn’t this guy used to beat the piss out of you?”

“Yeah, he fuckin’ sucks, haha.” The ringtail laughed, but there was also a glower in his eyes. It softened up, though. “But he gave me a ride the other day. He’s cool, Micha.”

“You just gonna stand in the heat, you mutt?”

“Clint! Don’t be mean…”

He weighed his options - he could leave, go home, and heat up some dinner or make and sandwich. That would mean he leaves these three, who were looking at him rather expectantly. And they _did_ usually have some choice weed on them. He had already spent part of his day drunk, so why not just finish it off high? 

He wordlessly stepped into the boxcar, the shade of the inside making it a bit cooler, the cold metal comfortable on his fur as he sat against the wall. Heather had stood herself right next to him, crouching down as Clint watched from a few feet away. The cat gave him a blunt and he took a big enough hit, trying not to look like a lightweight. 

The silence was getting awkward, and it wasn’t helped by Heather feeling up his arm with Clint in the same tiny boxcar. “So...What have you been up to Heather?” He pulled said arm up and away, hoping she would get the hint.

She turned her head, showing off some sparkly jewelry on her ears.“Oh y’know, a little of this and that… What do you think of my earrings?”

They didn’t look particularly intricate - some little gems covering a teardrop shape that hung from her ears. “Um, they’re pretty nice.”

"Haha, yeeeah! I been doin' a little side hustle...Just enough to buy myself some pretty things.”

“Oh, that’s good for you!”

“Do you wanna know what it is?” She said it coyly, as if hinting at it being something scandalous.

Micah finished taking a drag of his blunt.“Heather, he’s a homo. He’s not gonna eat you out, let alone for money.”

Leo chuckled. She seemed to have finally gotten the idea that he didn’t swing her way.

“Micah! That’s not what I do!”

The wolf piped up.“Well, what do you do?”

“I’m a camwhore!”

“She says it with such pride.” Micha mumbled from across the boxcar.

Heather snapped back. “Yeah well, what the hell kinda money are you making selling overpriced weed in a ghost town, bitch boy?”

Leo couldn’t hold back some laughter, taking another hit of the blunt. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Clint trying to get the cats attention, waving his fingers. She didn’t notice - just sat there, idling.

“Heather, c’mere.” Still nothing. Her eyes seemed glazed over.

“Heather!” A shout got her attention, and she crawled the short distance over to the ringtail. Heather seemed to do the same thing she had done to Leo, crawling into Clint’s lap with little resistance. He tried not to pay attention and just kept smoking the blunt in his hands. He had a good high going on. He looked over at Micha. The bat had his head turned to look out the window, probably also trying to avoid the scene unfolding. A few more whispers, mutters - and then a raised voice.

“Heather, no one wants to see that right now.” He pushed her off of him and she whined. She had taken her phone out and it clattered across the floor, the camera light on.

Micha groaned. “Oh God, not this again.”

“What?” Apparently whatever it was, it was a recurring thing. He wished it wasn’t happening right now - the arguing was harshing the vibe he had going on.

“It’s… complicated.”

He felt eerily like he was at one of his high school parties. Drug use, people on top of each other, someone trying to film - except now he was the sole outsider, and his brain was nudging him to leave.

Clint had stood up, and he raised his voice enough for it to crack.“What the fuck is wrong with you? In front of them!?”

“Well they can leave, can’t they?”

The ringtail made some frustrated noise and hopped out of the boxcar. Heather followed, sounding dramatic. “Wait, Clint!”

That just left him and Micha marinating in the smoky train car.

Leo giggled. “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

“That about sums it up.”

Leo remembered what Flynn had said about leaving Clint alone. It didn’t seem like Heather was doing much of that.

“Clint is...is he doing better?”

Micha laid down on his back, stretching his wings out. “I mean, as better as he can be in this shithole town.”

“I know he doesn’t have… He did some heavy stuff, right?” _‘Meth, Leo, he did meth.’_ It’s not like it was a secret.

Micha didn’t seem to care. “Yeah. And with Brian gone, he can’t get a fix. He’s been fuckin’ going through it.”

“Fuck that psycho. And the weasel, too.” 

Micha nodded in agreement.“...Pfft, yeah.”

Leo looked over at the bat sprawled across the floor. Micha was hardly ever around Leo as a kid, and he hadn’t seen the bat since he had made his return - only heard his name from Carl. What could’ve possibly brought him back to Echo?

“So...what are you doing here?”

“None of your business.”

“You gotta put up with that,” he motioned outside to where he could still hear the two yelling and crying about something. “All the time?”

The bat sat up.“What is this, twenty questions?”

“Yeah. Why you gotta be such a little bitch?” He couldn’t help but giggle a little more.

“Shut the fuck up.” 

They sat in silence for a bit, listening to the sound of the argument getting further away. They were both content to let that fade out, just riding the high they had going on. Leo looked over at Micha and found him pretty flagrantly staring at his chest. The shirt he had on hugged his peces pretty tightly - _‘Hehe, that is a pretty good view_ ’.

“You’re staring.”

“Oh my God, can you just smoke in peace?” He sounded more annoyed than flustered.

“I get chatty when I’m high, haha.”

“I fucking noticed.”

 _‘Sour grapes.’_ Whatever. He wasn’t in the mood anyways. He was starting to feel stifled by the air - he tried to focus on the view right in front of him. A sandy, dirt landscape dotted with a few arid plants. It was a static scene - no trees, no wind, no people. It was so lifeless - a scene that he saw everyday. It was almost how he felt - empty, hollow, unmoving. 

This town just made people terrible, that must’ve been it. Anything good had escaped years, decades ago, surely. _‘Just look at who’s left…’_ And _what_ was left. A few trailers. A few less houses. Charred remains and shuttered windows standing by themselves in a ghost town. He felt like he was the only person around...but he wasn’t.

Micha had returned to staring out the open door as well. With the amount of people that died it was amazing that the four of them had managed to not...well, die. Of course, Jeremy was gone but so was his house. It seemed reasonable that he had just up and left with his dad since it burned down. He wondered what happened to Micha that night, anyways - it couldn’t hurt to ask.

“What did you do that night? When everyone went nuts?”

“Went for a run.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah. Duke got everyone to meet at the town office, somebody dumped a fucking dead body on the ground, and I just ran, like, fuck that shit!” He had sat up and was emphasizing with his hands.

“Woah… Where did you go?” He remembered Flynn mentioning an impromptu town meeting, which is what the bat was likely talking about.

“I just fuckin ran, dude. I...don’t remember. All I remember was thinking that I needed to get as far away from people as possible.”

“You didn’t see anything crazy?”

He didn’t respond to that - at least, not verbally. But his big bat ears lowered a bit at the mention of hallucinating. 

“I...I saw hallucinations of my ex, if it makes you feel any better.” He didn’t respond to that either, and now his mind was back on Chase. He grew frustrated at his brain for constantly going back to the otter. Then he grew frustrated at himself for even being in the boxcar. What was getting stoned gonna do, anyways?

 _Getting high with the…the lowlifes...'_ But that felt unfair to say. _'Ah, who am I trying to fool? I deserve this dumpster fire of a town.’_

He started to tear up without even realizing it. _‘I’m just gonna die alone in this town, aren’t I?’_ He knew he was only getting emotional because of the weed, but he couldn’t stop it.

“Oh what the fuck, why are you crying?”

Embarrassed, he wordlessly stood up and made his way out of the boxcar. He misjudged his steps though, one paw expecting to hit metal only to find itself falling through the air, and the wolf fell flat on his face with a _thunk_.

“Bahaha!” He could hear Micha laughing obnoxiously from behind him. That was a hard fall - he landed right on his muzzle...

“Crap, Leo, are you OK?” 

He stood up and dusted himself off, trying to ignore the pain in his face. “I’m fine! I’m fine.”

“ _Fuck,_ ” he muttered to himself. His hand on his jaw, he begrudgingly made his way back _in_ to the boxcar.

“Lemme just...Lay down here for a bit.” So long as it was quiet...He just needed to rest his head a bit more. He saw Micha looking at him again, still failing to be subtle about checking him out.

“Go ahead, you’re fine dude.” And with that, he shut his eyes.

* * *

When he came to, he noticed the sky was darker. It must’ve been evening. The only other person still in the empty boxcar was Micha, who had sat himself right next to the wolf. He was staring straight ahead, looking out onto the landscape.

“You heard the hum too, right?”

Leo looked perplexed. “What?”

“Before. In the months before. A hum in the air.”

He tried to wrack his brain for anything of the sort. Looking back on things, the past few months had really been a blur. “I...I don’t remember.”

“Clint said that it messed you up bad. He didn’t tell me everything but he told me you went crazy.” That could’ve been a number of things.

I had...really bad visions. Really realistic ones.”

“Of your ex you said, right?”

“Yeah. Fucking crazy lookin’ back on it. Really creepy.”

Micha paused. “I swear that it...It changed them. Maybe me too, I don’t know.”

“Changed?”

“Like...the way they acted. When I heard the hum, they just started acting different. And then later, maybe the next day, it would be normal again...Gah,I probably sound crazy.”

Honestly, it didn’t sound too farfetched. “Micah, everything about this town is crazy.”

They sat there for a few minutes, the sun setting out of view. “Yeah…” He heard the bat whisper to himself. ‘ _Well, this was a weird day.’_ He stood up. He still felt a dull throb in his muzzle, but it didn’t hurt to talk or anything like that.

“I’m gonna go before it gets too dark.”

“Stay safe.” Leo threw a thumbs up and walked back home.


	9. Chapter 9

_19 days later_

_‘“Best friend with benefits”, he says. You fucking idiot.’_

It was a relatively slow day in the office, given the state that everything was in. He had just gotten off his lunch break and he was greeted with the greatest gift he possibly could have - an empty desk. After a morning filled with busywork and making phone calls for other people, he was content to just dick around on his phone for a little while. Opening his phone up only reminded him of the conversation he had the day before - Carl was asking for ‘reinforcements’ in some strategy game that he had convinced him to download a few days ago, probably just for this purpose.

“Best friend with benefits.” He muttered it aloud. _‘Of all the things to say…’_ He didn’t know if he should’ve been more upset at himself for not outright asking the ram, or Carl for not getting the damn hint. How much more blunt could he have been? Was he just playing coy? Or maybe he was overthinking it - yeah, that must’ve been it. Carl was clearly fine with the ‘friend with benefits’ label, so he should just leave it at that.

Tapping on the game request led him to a screen where he could send some of his space army-men over to Carl’s futuristic base. He didn’t really get the whole thing, but he saw him and Daxton playing the shit everytime he was around. The last thing he wanted to be was one of those suckers glued to the screen all for some online points. Still, he felt like Carl would hound him over it, however trivial.

He was so lost navigating the menus of the game that he almost didn’t hear the front door of the office open. He turned just in time to see the familiar mug of Micha, looking grumpy as he usually did. “Back for more so soon?”

He looked away in a manner that reminded him of those hard-to-get type cartoon girls that he saw Carl playing with in his romance simulators. “Shut up. No. Believe it or not, I have an actual reason for being here.”

“And what would that be?”

The bat put his paws on Flynn’s desk in an attempt to be intimidating. Flynn couldn’t tell. “I want to know what happened to my parents house.”

“Huh.” That was unexpected. Micha had been gone for years, his bad boy attitude prompting him to run away from home ages ago. Everyone assumed he was missing, but his parents didn't keep the search up for too long. They didn't seem like bad people, but Flynn could hardly remember them since they had left so long ago.

“Yeah. I come back and not only are they gone, but so is the whole home? What’s up with that?”

“They...moved out like four years ago, Micha. Someone else had the house for a year, but then they moved out too and it got demolished for some reason.”

This seemed to satisfy him. “OK...but what about my parents?”

Flynn had no idea what Michas parents were like - the bats never seemed too entwined with the community. “I don’t know, man. Have you tried FurBook?”

“Yeah, but there wasn’t anything I could see. They weren’t really the type to use that stuff, I think.”

It was weird listening to someone talk about their parents in a past tense, not because they were dead but because they were ‘missing’.

“I’m not really equipped to search for people. You try talking to the police?”

“Eugh, no thanks. Anyways, I haven’t really had the chance to. You’re the first person I’ve asked about it.”

“Clint and those guys don’t know?”

“Well, they didn’t have a clue. Bats, haha. Always workin’ in the dark.” 

Flynn furrowed his brow. “Yeah. Ok. Hold on a second, let me see if I can find anything else out.”

He made his way back to a room filled with filing cabinets, finding his way to the appropriate property based drawer and pulling it out. While Echo didn’t have much in the way of standing residential property, there was a lot more that had been torn down, destroyed and demolished. Thankfully Michas’ parents house was relatively recent - after flicking through the new documents that the hysteria had created, there was a small folder with a few papers.

Unfortunately, there was nothing that actually mentioned Micha’s parents by name. There was a mention of who did own the house at the time it was knocked down, and also a note that structural damage was extensive enough to render the house unlivable, slating it for demolition. Oh well, maybe he could make use of the name.

“Well, I think I found something that could hel- what are you doing?”

His previously empty desk was now covered in a layer of seductively posed Micha, laying on his side with his shirt lifted up and held in his mouth, revealing his torso.

“You do realize there are other people in this building, right?”

He took the shirt out of his mouth with a hand. “OK, so? You didn’t seem busy when I walked in.”

“Wh- that’s not the point.” The devilish thought of using one of the closets to give the bat a blowjob crossed his mind, but he would rather not get caught at work.

“Alright, whatever. Buzzkill.” He sat up, looking expectantly at the papers in the gila’s hand.

“It’s not much - just the name and number of the person who bought the house from your parents. Maybe they’ve got something you could use.”

Micha took the papers in his hand, noting the name of the last owner - someone named Warren, with a phone number right beneath. He would have to call it later.

“Thanks.”

He still sat on the desk, arms back, eyeing Flynn up and down.

“OK, you can get your feet off my desk now.”

“Oh, is this _your_ desk?”, he asked in the most bratty manner imaginable.

“Micha, I will not hesitate to pile-drive you directly into the dirt.”

“Hows about I pile-drive this dick into your a-”

Flynn grabbed the bat by his scruff and lifted him up and off the desk. Micha tried to backhand the lizard for being so brazen, but it didn’t stop Flynn from plopping him down by the front door. “Bye, Micha.”

What anger was in his eyes turned to pleading. “Wait, wait. What are you doing after work?”

The gila lifted an eyebrow. _‘Well, I wasn’t doing anything before.’_

He kept a stern look on his face. “I’ll call you. Got it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw9ZgMaY288


End file.
